What is the ONE BIG THING you would have done differently, if you could start over again?

Although there are many things I want to do better - better use of the space, more focus on what I buy, stay away from the fancy electronics, maybe stick with Standard Gauge and use a smaller scale for the true "modeling", and on and on - I wouldn't know any of those things without traveling down the road that I did.  And if I did all of those things "right", I'd probably have a different list of regrets.

I do feel sorry for the folks who feel like they chose the wrong hobby.  There are so many aspects of the train hobby to enjoy - I can't imagine that none of it would be enjoyable.

Guns are a fair weather hobby. trains are a foul weather hobby. It doesn't always work that way.

It is pretty bizarre how many guys seem to wish they hadn’t gotten into the hobby. Why the heck would someone stay involved in a hobby they didn’t like? Why buy trains, or participate in a forum like this, if it doesn’t make you happy? I understand keeping a job you don’t like, lord knows I did it for years, but I wouldn’t  waste my personal time doing that.
I’m not trying to be a jerk, I am just really curious. I wonder the same thing when I attend Philadelphia Eagles games. There are guys that sit near me that seem to complain about virtually everything. They really seem downright angry about the team. Why spend thousands of dollars a year for tickets, if you aren’t having fun?

Interesting question, looking back I believe I would have skipped G Gauge, realistically I didn't have space or budget to do a layout.  Time and money could have spent on a different gauge.

Sometimes I think I should have looked at other scales like HO or N.  They both have the variety and details, and would fit better in my home, especially N. But the size is just too small for my eyes to appreciate.  I also wonder if I should have given S a shot before I got back into O. Primarily for the size, look, and two rails. To me, the S scale is a perfect size. But then I look at the S options today and think I made the right choice. (American Flyer very limited offerings, MTH didn't do much with the S-Helper line-We will see what the new owner does with it, and American Models-  which has the best offerings but I believe the owner of the company is looking to retire, which leaves the company status up the air)

I wouldn’t have spent time and money trying to be able to run both newer command and older conventional control engines on the same layout... block wiring and control is complex compared to feeding 18 volts AC to everywhere. Luckily, I discovered how disappointing my postwar & modern era conventional engines were compared to my modern sound-equipped command-control locomotives before I got beyond 2 blocks powered by 2 Legacy Power Masters!

I am thankful that I built an around the walls, U-shaped dog bone track plan with an O-72 mainline. Also, very happy that my LHS owner got me to drill 3 good sized holes through every joist in my benchwork to run color coded wiring throughout the layout... it’s such a simple solution without staples, hangers, etc.

Lastly, I would’ve bought my 3 Plummer Creek Woodworking display cases for my engines much sooner. I get a lot of joy from just being able to see my (all too big) locomotive collection, and it’s easy to take any engine out of the case for a running session. Before my display cases, my huge investment in scale 3-rail engines were either jammed together somewhere on my layout or packed away in their boxes.

I do agree with others that we should enjoy the process of creating our layouts, even the mistakes that we learned from!

Peter

Build the benchwork at least 40 inches plus. That is definitely number one. Second would be much better wiring.

@Jim 1939 posted:

Build the benchwork at least 40 inches plus. That is definitely number one. Second would be much better wiring.

So, you don’t like a lower deck? Mine is 42”, and while I like the view, I often wonder if it would have been better a few inches lower. Then again, it is easier to move around under it.

Definitely with you on the wiring. I see guys pics of their wiring on here, then I stick my head under my layout and I want to cry. 😏

Unfortunately I let others convince me that young ones couldn't see the layout. BIG mistake. When they came to watch trains they always climbed up on a chair anyway. Now as an old man Going under there is a real PITA.

Back when we had our store, somewhere around the late nineties Weaver had a significant price increase on their freight cars. At the time I felt it was more than I could afford. I made a proposal to Joe Hayter. Joe turned it down. I should kept trying to work something out with him. Big mistake on my part.

Well, it's all kind of an adventure isn't it? I went to Nicholas Smith today (I live nearby) and I was flabbergasted by the new offerings from Lionel on display. The big steam locomotives blew me away. And I thought, geez, I could have saved lots of money on all the other scales and command systems I've bought if I'd just stuck with O gauge. But then I wouldn't know how to wire power district blocks or replace LEDs or sound boards, etc.. Now having laid track by hand and installed DCC decoders and smoke generators and so on, I can really appreciate things that "just work" and let me sit back and watch the trains go by.

You can do anything in any scale with any track and any command system. It's all about being creative.

i would have bought a more realistic starter set or perhaps an MTH starter set and not the hotwheels set as my first set. i feel like this may be the end of the hobby for me as progress has completely stagnated and this recent event that started in march of last year really has me asking do i even have the time before the apocalpse comes my parents keep telling me to wait yet no one cares if i actually ever have the trains and just see my asking as a nucense or annoyance with my anxiety of just wanting to grow a little bit more in progress because i've waited for 18 years for a layout

Cody- the world is not ending anytime soon.  Enjoy your life, don’t spend it worrying.  This too, shall pass. I didn’t start my layout until I was 35.  Everyone buys things they regret. Try to sell the Hot Wheels set. Any money you get, put towards trains you like now. I wouldn’t advise continuing with trains you no longer like.  Many folks are anxious at this time. A hobby may help you to focus on something less worrisome. JohnA

Cody,

Many of us on this board have lived through the Cold War nuclear bomb threats, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the riots and burnings of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War era, the Bird Flu epidemic, the Swine Flu epidemic, the Y-2K scare, the destruction of the World Trade Towers and related Terrorist bombings, the riots and burnings of of the past year due to various other "Movements, and numerous other things that I can't even remember. 

Just remember this, the COVID epidemic in it's current form is temporary and transitory.   Because you are young, it looks very long and worrisome.  But, I can guarantee you that in a few months, you will be through it, and you will be focused on and dealing with other things.

Don't waste your wonderful youth worrying about this stuff!  :-)  And take your time improving your train set, one car at a time, one car at a time. 

Mannyrock

Can’t think of just one, here is a few important considerations that I learned through experience.

- make sure all work to train room is completed: high quality, lighting, ceiling, and all electrical is fully functional. Any repairs after layout is built will be difficult and detrimental to layout

- plan: list desired industries, think of industry that belong near railroad, Scenic features, use track plan software (any rail), create mock-up if possible

- use MAXIMUM track diameter possible!!! O-72 minimum ideal. Trust me It looks better and you will be able to run any train you want...you will thank me later

- Less is more when it comes to man made elements of scenery. Avoid clutter, building that are squeezed together, too many vehicles, roads that are not scale or too narrow. Quality over quantity

I wish I would have played the harmonica instead of drums! Oh, wrong forum! Two rail instead of three for me!

@Mannyrock posted:

Cody,

Many of us on this board have lived through the Cold War nuclear bomb threats, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the riots and burnings of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War era, the Bird Flu epidemic, the Swine Flu epidemic, the Y-2K scare, the destruction of the World Trade Towers and related Terrorist bombings, the riots and burnings of of the past year due to various other "Movements, and numerous other things that I can't even remember.

Just remember this, the COVID epidemic in it's current form is temporary and transitory.   Because you are young, it looks very long and worrisome.  But, I can guarantee you that in a few months, you will be through it, and you will be focused on and dealing with other things.

Don't waste your wonderful youth worrying about this stuff!  :-)  And take your time improving your train set, one car at a time, one car at a time.

Mannyrock

We just ducked under our wooden desks with the ink well holes still in them and we were safe from nuclear attack

@hold*on posted:

My layout thoughts and construction work were engaged in 1982, so many of today's products were not available, and I was not interested in too much "rivet counting".  I like what I have and realize how fortunate I am to have my space and trains, but am quick to say that I wish I had done a more thorough job of wiring everything.  Things run well, but I have a mess whenever I need to go under the layout for repair/additions or utilization of that storage space.

I totally related to what you say, hold*on. Like you,  trains run fairly well on my layout and, by some miracle, I have rarely, if ever, have a short circuit, but my wiring is my own concoction. It is very logical, but if I did it over, I would color code all the wiring, and do it with half as many wires that I currently have under the train table.

The wires under my layout are a mess, and look like a rat's nest. However, I did certain things well, including using 14 gauge wires to lock-ons every few feet of track.

Aa far as crawling under the plywood train tables (usually to deal with derailments), I have a way to put a positive spin on it. Whenever I crawl under the tables, I think of it as my model railroad yoga (LOL). That is because I contort my body in various positions bending, stretching, reaching, crawling and ducking under, when I do so. Arnold

I too am surprised about the responses from people who regret being in the hobby period.  I’m a hobbyist at heart and model trains has been lifelong passion.  I wouldn’t be in it if I didn’t enjoy it.  Otherwise it would be like investing time and $$ to play golf if you hated the game.  

As to the OP’s question, I already made the one big the change when I switched from HO to O several years ago.   In that change I began to concentrate on the parts of the hobby that interest me most (detailing and painting locomotives and structures) and abandoned unrealistic (for me) plans for a large railroad empire.  In the change I also embraced the more relaxed approach of hi-rail modeling.  The more focused, yet relaxed approach to the hobby has been a great fit for me

My occupation causes me to sometimes wake up mulling things over. After a half hour of that, I give up, get up and go to work on my trains or layout. Some of my best work is done at 2:00 AM.

On my third layout and I learned like we all do from past mistakes.

Get a good-quality label-maker that takes the cartridges for labeling wires. Along with color-coding the wire having labels makes trouble-shooting far easier. A well done wiring job makes life easier a few years down the road!

Chuck

Lionelski,

I remember in the second grade, during the Cuban Missile Crises, we all had to practice the "Get Under the Desk" drill in case of a nuclear missile attack, twice a day.  We lived 14 miles from D.C.

During one of the drills, a kid in my class, who always wore an Army Jacket, loudly said, "My Dad works in the Pentagon, and he says that if D.C. gets hit, we are all going to be fried!"

We all laughed.

The teacher started crying.

Since we were all raised watching the Quinn Martin productions on T.V. every week ("Combat" and "Gallant Men"), we thought she was a wimp!  :-)

Mannyrock

I would have gone with S gauge instead of O, simply due to the "Lionel tradition" that started with the train set Santa got me when I was six.  I've come to realize how stubby the non-scale O stuff looks (no room or money for O scale!) & feel S offers better usage of space & a more proportional/realistic  appearance.... not to mention the two-rail track.

I would have tried to put in more staging tracks.    I am thinking 14-15 would be good rather than the 9 I have.

John Armstrong said they you calculate how many you think you need as N, and the build 2N+1.

@Former Member posted:

I had over a hundred scale engines, now I'm down to six and they will be sold off by next month.  I still have about 1000 pieces of rolling stock to go.  I don't miss it at all.  I'm getting out before it's too late.  I'm going out into the sunshine instead of being in a hobby that just goes in circles and goes nowhere.  Bob

You likely already know from having sold your locomotives, but you will take a beating when you sell the rolling stock.  Expect 25 cents on the dollar OR LESS!   

Some funny responses.  I’m not sure if I have regrets, but it might have been more rational not to build the layout I did and ended up having to tear down.  But it was pretty darn cool, so I’m glad I did it.  You only live once and that was my once in a lifetime layout.  I miss it.  I still have a hankering for modeling and have a nice, manageable collection of prewar standard gauge gear.  So, no looking back.  I think I’ll get my 390 blue comet set out.  That’ll do it.

I would have built a modular layout so it would be easier to move when needed.  Other than that, I’m happy with it.

A little higher off the floor, say around 42” -  48” so I could sit upright underneath. Better wire labeling, and modular for future moves/changes,

I designed and built a L-shaped layout to fit in a L-shaped room with narrow aisleways around the perimeter to maximize the platform area -- as per the attached track plan with two levels.

I like to add more train(s) with a ceiling route, but there's no way to build it above the existing layout.  If I had it to do over again, I'd build the CEILING ROUTE first.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12494

Would have bought only remote control engines; am too old to get on floor to run conventional trains.....my Fastrack layout is on carpet.

The ONE BIG thing I would have done differently?

SERVE GOD

With Him, everything else falls into place.

@Mike H Mottler posted:

I designed and built a L-shaped layout to fit in a L-shaped room with narrow aisleways around the perimeter to maximize the platform area -- as per the attached track plan with two levels.

I like to add more train(s) with a ceiling route, but there's no way to build it above the existing layout.  If I had it to do over again, I'd build the CEILING ROUTE first.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12494I

I'm a firm believer in where there is a will there is a way.  Maybe in those inaccessible areas you could build modules and lift them into place.  Maybe temporary access could be made to accommodate module installation.  I remember seeing photos of maintenance on the Choo Choo barn layout.  They threw a couple of boards over the section of interest.  They suspended the boards on blocks placed on the layout.   I have a smaller project going on now.  I'm am prefabbing as much as I can to limit the install time on a custom work platform I will fabricate.  I'm older so spending a lot of time on the work platform is not an option.

@Peter C posted:

... I would’ve bought my 3 Plummer Creek Woodworking display cases for my engines much sooner. I get a lot of joy from just being able to see my (all too big) locomotive collection, and it’s easy to take any engine out of the case for a running session. Before my display cases, my huge investment in scale 3-rail engines were either jammed together somewhere on my layout or packed away in their boxes.

Thanks for the mention of this company; just looked at their website. Both my cases, and my stand-alone displays with clear coverings were from Classy Woods, an OGR advertiser, who went out of business over a year ago.

Here's one of the stand-alone display cases I bought; wish I'd bought more from him (behind are the 1632 series books from Baen, some of which include constructing railroads in a 17th century alternate universe):

Built an HO switching layout once that was as nearly perfect as my imagination desired, but now I build very small three-rail oval layouts. They are very satisfying, but I have two regrets:

1) persisting in trying to find reliable turnouts at an affordable price. I've wasted hundreds of $$$, and always return to the mantra that continuous running doesn't require any switches at all.

2) very soon after entering 3-rail I abandoned traditional in favor of scale (since I was coming from a scale background). I wish I had had a mentor who could have explained the whys and wherefores of traditional Lionel and directed me immediately to pre- and postwar Lionel 1937-1958. The historical element and artistic/engineering decisions more than make up for any toy-like mis-directions of the era.

@shorling posted:

I'm a firm believer in where there is a will there is a way.  Maybe in those inaccessible areas you could build modules and lift them into place.  Maybe temporary access could be made to accommodate module installation.  I remember seeing photos of maintenance on the Choo Choo barn layout.  They threw a couple of boards over the section of interest.  They suspended the boards on blocks placed on the layout.   I have a smaller project going on now.  I'm am prefabbing as much as I can to limit the install time on a custom work platform I will fabricate.  I'm older so spending a lot of time on the work platform is not an option.

Steve:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm now 81, so an ambitious project for a ceiling route is beyond my capability. I posted my imagined project on a FIND A CONTRACTOR website for a response by a local carpenter/builder. Only one guy replied and visited my train room, but he declined to submit a bid -- "too complicated."

Your tip about modular construction and installation using perimeter scaffolding is well taken.. My layout is not strong enough to support additional weight during construction. I consider the project "on hold but active only as a lively dream."

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

I moved my unfinished AF S gauge layout’s benchwork from our old house to the “new” house many years ago.  No track, etc. had been permanently installed on the layout yet, and I had assembled the benchwork with screws, so it came apart easily for the move.  That was a good thing.

Several pieces of the bench work were then reconfigured, set up and arranged to fit into the much smaller room I had available in the new house.  Not so smart.

My regrets are not planning the layout before simply setting up the benchwork in the configuration that allowed the most of the old benchwork to be used and squeezed into the new space and not putting the whole thing on casters when I had the chance.  

As a result, after all these years, any layouts set up are still “temporary,” and their design is overly affected by what I can reach from the center aisle.

Secondary regret: As a result of the above, I keep my interest up be buying trains, many of which are stored under and on top of the benchwork, instead of running them!

Cheers!

Alan

My layout is over 30 years old. It’s a fairly large layout and the transformer was placed so you could see the entire layout. I did use an Al Trol throttle for a bit and my outlook started to change. Enter command control. If I had started with it and with what’s offered today as far as motive power I’d have a different take on the hobby. Pretty much ran everything out of the box back then. Over the years I’ve learned to paint and decal to an acceptable level for me. So building a fleet versus a collection is now doable. Focus on one main RR to model and match the terrain and structures to the prototype. I would have went with a single track mainline with passing sidings. With backdrops or view blocks that would force you to focus on one scene at a time and force you to follow your train. More staging. Capable of loop running but would be designed as a point to point. Operations with a crew would be the goal.

My layout evolved into somewhat of a walkaround. I focus on pretty much the Rutland RR with multiple rd. No’s. of the same engine types. Luckily my layout was built with a northeastern fall theme from the beginning. So it looks the part of the prototype. I’m more than happy with it and it’s to late to start over. It will never be exactly what I want but I’ll keep tweaking and get it the best it can be.

I think I  would have bought less trains.  I am a few years from real retirement and will never run all of the engines and cars or display them.  Maybe I should have gone for more quality over quantity?  Plus,  I really don't have an heir who will want them.  One thing I think about now is reducing the quantity but, I know that will be at a loss $$ wise.

Radio Ron,

I take umbrage on your comment to GSBob, saying that he will only receive 25 cents on the dollar for his rolling stock.

I for one would be glad to pay 35 cents on the dollar!  :-)

Mannyrock

Circa 1970 I was conned by Model Railroader magazine propaganda that "switching layouts are great for limited space." My first layout as a teenager was a switching layout which I soon tired of. Ever since, I strive for plans with continuous circuits, layovers, alternate routes and provision to run different through trains without extensive switching. There is way too much emphasis on switching operations in the hobby press IMO. My real-world railfan activities involved through trains, not switching.

The hobby press also steered me wrong about minimum radius standards for HO. I go sharper than "experts" advise to get interesting plans into modest spaces with no duckunders. Sharp curves work fine with easements and appropriate equipment.

Well for one thing I wouldn't let my dad touch my engines, otherwise my 2032's would still be in service, but the major thing I would have changed would have been building a layout when I had my workshop.